The Long, Winding Road
by Heroe
Summary: Haruno Sakura was willing to follow Uchiha Sasuke at the age of twelve, and she is still willing to follow him at the age of seventeen. Response to prompt four (there was no warning) for SasuSaku Month. COMPLETE.


**Summary**: Haruno Sakura was willing to follow Uchiha Sasuke at the age of twelve, and she is still willing to follow him at the age of seventeen. Response to prompt four (there was no warning) for SasuSaku Month.

**Disclaimer**: Naruto is (c) Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha, Inc.

**THE LONG, WINDING ROAD**

The post-war decision that was handed down by the Kages should not have come as a shock, but it did nonetheless. _The Sharingan was too dangerous to be left unchecked and should die out with the last Uchiha_.

Sound examples were given for the mandate: Uchiha Madara's desire for power; Uchiha Obito's wish for a new world; Uchiha Fugaku and the clan's resentment and planned _coup d'état_ of Konoha; and, of course, Uchiha Sasuke's mad quest for vengeance. The Uchiha had a propensity for instability.

Uzumaki Naruto vehemently argued on Sasuke's behalf, though his efforts were to no avail. While it was true that Sasuke had been instrumental in the Allied Force's victory during the Fourth Shinobi World War, it did not detract from the fact that he had already shown himself willing to go to horrific extremes if he felt justified. Neither the guilty nor the innocent had been safe from his fury and, even worse, he was not the least bit repentant for his actions.

As a small mercy, depending upon how you looked at it, the Kages chose to sentence Sasuke to a lifetime of imprisonment in lieu of execution. He was housed in the maximum security ward of the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility. Visitation was kept to the barest minimum and, thus, Haruno Sakura had not seen him since his incarceration.

This is why, for the sixth night in a row, the sole kunoichi of Team Seven sat upon a bench near the road leading out of her village. She was not at all surprised when Sasuke finally made an appearance many hours later. He, in turn, was not at all surprised to discover Sakura waiting on him. Some things never changed.

"I knew the prison wouldn't hold you for long," she idly remarked.

Reminiscent of years past, Sasuke walked by her without any sign of acknowledgement.

A weary smile crossed Sakura's deceptively delicate features. "Why don't you say anything to me? Why do you always keep so quiet? You never say a single word to me..."

The familiar lines caused him to waver.

"No matter what path I take, everything leads back to _that night_," she bitterly revealed. The night a young, naïve girl confessed to a boy and had her world irrevocably altered as a result.

"Hn."

When Sasuke did not immediately depart, Sakura gained the confidence to finish what she had come to say. "I know about your past, I've seen you at your lowest and I'm still here. I love you with all my heart."

"You really are annoying," he muttered while indifferently staring toward the village exit.

Sakura gave a broken laugh at the anticipated insult.

"I am," she agreed. "Even so, I'm asking you to please take me with you. I understand the consequences - that I'll have to leave my family and friends, that I'll be hunted as a missing-nin - but they're preferable to being without you. Because, to me, that's the same as being alone."

"Tch."

Taking the dismissive noise as a rejection, Sakura closed her eyes and allowed her shoulders to sag in defeat. "Go then, Sasuke-kun," she said. "I won't scream for help, I won't try to stop you. Just go, and I'll pray for your happiness."

When no reply was forthcoming, she assumed he had left. Thereafter, several seconds elapsed as she accustomed herself to the permanent feeling of hopeless solitude. Then, upon finding the strength to confront the world once more, she cracked a tired lid. The sight that greeted her was far from expected.

Sasuke scowled as he stood in front of her, right arm outstretched and the palm of his hand facing upward. "We don't have all night, Sakura. The guards will be searching for me soon."

Viridian eyes shimmered, and there was no hesitancy as she placed her hand into his own.

"Thank you."

**THE END**


End file.
